Bound by Lies & Fate

Chapter 8: Ashton

I had to get her out of there before Malcolm thinks he can make her turn on us. Jax, one of my protectors, sent me a text message saying it looked like Eden was driving to Malcolm's office. I had told Jax to watch Eden ever since I met her at the house, and when he alerted me that she was on her way to Malcolm's building, I got up from my desk and ran over. I just told Spence that I would be back, but he knew something was up. I just shouted, "Just going out." I had to tell him about the house incident, and the fact that she was Vivian's daughter and could possibly be Tobias's daughter as well. She doesn't smell like a wolf, but there is something different about her scent—it seems tainted.

I get back to the bar before Eden and can feel her presence before she walks in. She has a beautiful smile, and I can see her amazing tits and hips in her tight-fitting clothes. I love the way she walks with confidence and sexiness, which only adds to her appeal. She is my type, and normally the ones I go for when I pick up a girl for the night. When I saw her back at Malcolm's office, I would be lying if I didn't say her outfit made my cock hard, and the way she spoke to me was a turn-on. As soon as I hear her laugh with Spencer, my body tenses and my wolf is ready to kill the contender. I have to calm him down—it's Spencer, he is a natural flirt with everyone, even me. I start to order the staff around with commands. I walk over to Nora and Ryder first to tell them about tonight's menu change, but I'm really watching Eden the whole time. Eden does notice and looks at me, but her face changes from a giggly schoolgirl to a professional lawyer. 

Nora did tell me how she was a lawyer, and after what I've seen, it's clear she would be perfect at it. She is fierce, with a hint of spice. If I were in the courtroom, I wouldn't be able to stop watching her, mesmerized by her at work and knowing that if anyone dared to hurt her, I would take them down myself.

Just thinking about her in action, her sharp mind slicing through arguments, her commanding presence demanding respect. She's not just beautiful; she's intelligent and slightly intimidating. There's a strength in her that draws me in, a fire that matches my own. The way she carries herself, with such confidence and poise, only amplifies my desire to protect her.

Nora clicks her fingers in front of my face and I turn to her. "Come back to earth, what is up with you today?" she replies. I give her a look that I am not impressed but nothing fazes Nora. She has been one of my oldest friends and she is Spencer's sister; we practically grew up together and she is the only one that I let talk to me like that. 

"Nothing, just a lot on my mind," I respond. She goes to say something, but instead just looks to where I am looking. 

"If you say so," she smirks and walks away with attitude. I walk over to Eden and Spencer; he is telling her some story about the time that we tried to pick up twins. 

I grip the bar counter and I give him an alpha command: "Spencer, enough." it comes out louder than I was hoping and it makes Eden jump. Spencer stares at me for a minute and then smiles – cheeky asshole, he knows how to rile me up. 

"I have to go, Eden, it was nice to finally meet you. I am sure we will be seeing a lot of each other," Spencer says to Eden, waving as he leaves.

As we walk into my office, she sits down on my couch and grabs some notes out of her bag. I close the door and sit on the armchair opposite her. I watch as she gets comfortable; her sexy legs are in my view, and her shirt is showing a hint of cleavage that makes me want to see more. I want more. I wonder if I took her here and now, would she say no? She is sexy—take her. I can feel her body tense, and then I smell her arousal; it makes my cock hard in my pants. I try to contain my wolf—let me meet her NOW. I stopped the first encounter in the woods the other day. He wants to protect her and make her mine. If she is mine, things are going to get complicated. I scrim in my chair, and pace the back and forth my office, looking down the entire time, hoping that she didn't notice my eye change color. Just let her understand more about us first – I tell him.

She looks at me and waits for me to sit back down. "Are you okay?" she asks. 

"Yeah," I finally reply, and I go to sit on the chair again. My wolf seems content with that answer. She grabs a necklace around her neck and rubs the bird in between her fingertips. I have seen that necklace before, I have to ask mom about it later, I am sure she will remember. 

"Ok I have a lot of questions, and if you could answer them truthfully that would help me." She seems upset by the statement as if Malcolm's encounter didn't seem honest. My wolf stirs again. 

"I will do the best I can." I don't want to lie to her, but there are some things I can't tell her because she isn't part of the pack. Also, some things are hard for people to understand, and one of the other reasons why I stormed into Malcolm's office. 

"You know my mother is Vivian Ravenwood. Well, she passed away 14 weeks ago. My mother gave me a letter about the house and asked for me to talk to you specifically. Do you know why?" 

I looked at her shocked. I assumed she was dead, but I suppose waiting for her to say it seemed real. I answer abruptly – my wolf is asking me to comfort her. "I live there at the moment." 

She nods and writes it down and then goes on to her next question. "You probably didn't know my mother but was she in any contact with anyone here?"

I did know her mother, Vivian. She left when I was just 21. You see, wolves age slower than humans. Vivian was only 24 when she departed, while Tobias, a seasoned elder in his 60s, had already met her by then. Their bond was extraordinary, you can tell they were true mates from the way they interacted with each other. Tobias played a pivotal role in our acquisition of the land. Vivian entrusted it to him, and upon his disappearance, it came into my father's possession, eventually passing down to me.

Vivian's departure left a void in our pack, but her legacy lived on through the land she gifted to Tobias, and through me, now I am entrusted with it's protection. She was not loved by everyone, but those that matter, she was missed.

I try to come up with the best answer "I don't think so, we didn't know where she was, but we did go looking for her when she left." She notices my answer and is happy. My wolf is happy too- you said we, he replies. "My father and mother looked." I answer with a save. It's not the whole answer, but it's close enough. 

"Do you know anything about the Somervilles?" she continues. I do not expect that question. We haven't heard that name in a while. It was our ancestors' name, the first wolf family to come here, and at the time the Ravenwood's and Somervilles were partners. They were building the lands and town to full profitability but there was a feud when one of the Ravenwood daughters fell in love with a Somerville wolf, and that is when the feud started and never ended. Vivian's grandmother, Beatrice, and mother, Dorothy, were trying to bring us all together again, but they both died suddenly and Beatrice put in contingency plan instead of dividing the land to ensure that the feud would stay dormant. But when I noticed Drake in town and Malcolm meeting with him regularly, I knew something was happening. Eden being here only adds to the suspicion of what we feared. 

"Yeah, I am a descent of the Somervilles. My mother is a Somervilles. It is how the town was named "Wood" from the Ravenwood and "Ville" from Somervilles. The Springs is for the lakes and waterfalls." 

She looked conflicted, pausing before continuing. Her heart rate starts to increase "I used to dream about the lakes and waterfalls, but I always appeared as a black wolf. I thought I saw him in the woods the other day. I must have been mistaken." It was clearly difficult for her to vocalize those thoughts. I glanced at her, puzzled, but then it clicked—her. My wolf stirred within me, sensing her presence, and a primal urge to claim her surged through me.

Eden noticed the intensity in my gaze and fear flickered across her face. She moved back from me, gathering her things, she moved to leave, but the doorknob jammed as she tried to open it. Panic set in, and she began shaking it desperately.

I attempted to speak, intending to reassure her, but it emerged as a growl, and I felt my body beginning to shift. She managed to open the door, and I heard her footsteps echoing down the hallway as she ran away.

"Eden!" I tried to shout after her, but it was too late. I had already transformed into my wolf form.

Spencer burst into the room. "Fuck!" His exclamation summed up the chaotic situation perfectly.